dave matthewshttp://www.readthehook.com/taxonomy/term/1306/all
enA nation of immigrants: Dave Matthews speaks at Monticellohttp://www.readthehook.com/109851/monticello
<p>Like ants marching, hundreds suffered slow and crowded shuttle rides up and down Monticello mountain to attend the 51st Independence Day Celebration and Naturalization Ceremony at Monticello on July 4, with guest speaker, musician Dave Matthews.</p>
<p>The sold-out event, the longest running naturalization ceremony outside a courtroom, saw 79 people from 36 countries become U.S. citizens, bringing to 3,000 the total number of citizens naturalized at the home of Thomas Jefferson, the principle author of the Declaration of Independence, who, in proper form, also died there on July 4 in 1826. <br /><br />Matthews, too, suffered a grueling schedule to attend. In a short text message, the rocker described feeling "a bit addled" when he threw on a three-piece suit early Thursday morning and headed up Monticello mountain to give his speech. He'd arrived in Charlottesville "pretty late" the night before after performing a show outside of Buffalo, New York, on the July leg of a 45-concert summer tour. Still, Matthews' family, as well as DMB manager Coran Capshaw, were in attendance.<br /><br />Matthews, who immigrated to the U.S. from South Africa with his family in 1969, grew up in Charlottesville and later formed the Dave Matthews Band, which has sold more than 30 million records worldwide. Indeed, as Thomas Jefferson Foundation Board Chairman Donald A. King Jr. joked, Matthews' star has become so bright that they've been reluctant to conduct a poll asking people to name Charlottesville's most famous citizen, fearing it might not be Thomas Jefferson. <br /><br />Matthews may not have been one of Monticello's most stately speakers, who have included Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and George W. Bush, but given his Charlottesville roots, his own immigration story, and his serious hometown-boy-done-good creds, it's a surprise it's taken so long. <br /><br />"Dave Matthews was, to my mind, the perfect speaker, a son of not just Charlottesville or America but of the world," says Jasmin Darznik, an Iranian-born novelist who became a U.S. citizen on July 4. "For me, personally, the day was filled with joy but also an awareness of just how lucky I was to stand on those steps and finally take that oath of citizenship." <br /><br />Matthews was quick to remind the new citizens that there have been many Americas— ones to be proud of, and ones to be not so proud of. <br /><br />“There is the America of our forefathers who signed the incredibly important Declaration of Independence. And there is the America that enslaved half a million men, women, and children at the very time the Declaration of Independence was signed,” said Matthews. “Many of those who signed that document themselves owned slaves. Thomas, the great Thomas Jefferson, the brilliant Thomas Jefferson among them.” <br /><br />Matthews also focused on Native Americans, who now call themselves Americans as well, but whose culture was decimated by the influx of settlers. <br /><br />"We are a nation of immigrants," said Matthews. "Our future history belongs to you as much as to anyone. This is the America of jazz and the blues and rock ‘n' roll and the civil rights movement and putting a man on the moon and of the atomic bomb. This is the America of a complicated history."<br /><br />Matthews also shared some funny and trying stories about his own experience becoming a U.S. citizen, describing how the immigration service lost his mother's papers when she was attempting to apply back in the 1970s, before digital back-up files. He also told a story about a friend of his who was seeking citizenship, and how the process was stalled when the friend was told that his fingerprints had expired. <br /><br />"How do your fingerprints expire?" Matthews asked, cracking up the crowd. "I like <span class="st">bureaucracy.</span>.. it just makes things funny after you're done," he added.<br /><br />"[Matthews] interjected a necessary note of realism amid all the celebration and congratulations," says Darznik. "That meant a lot to me. The system is far from easy or fair, and in the end what separated me from the millions of other immigrants seeking citizenship in this country was luck."</p>
<p>To drive home some of his ideas, Matthews referenced language inscribed on the Statue of Liberty (getting a laugh when he assured the new citizens he was not calling them "wretched refuse"), as well as on the the Great Seal of the United States. In the end, he left the new citizens with the motto on that seal, <em>E pluribus unum</em>, the Latin phrase meaning "out of many, one."<br /><br />"We may be many," said Matthews, spreading his arms, then holding up one finger, "but now, we are one."</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/109851/monticello#comments_BreakingNewsFeatured4th of Julydave matthewsmonticelloNewsMon, 08 Jul 2013 13:59:14 +0000Dave McNair109851 at http://www.readthehook.comDave & Tim concert rakes in dough and listenershttp://www.readthehook.com/100321/dave-tim-concert-rakes-dough-and-listeners
<p>The dollar count hasn't yet been revealed, but the music filled the eastern end of the Downtown Mall on the night of Saturday, August 20, as the musical duo of Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds performed a sold-out show <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/100277/scalped-dave-and-tim-show-draws-cockroaches">for charities</a>.</p>
<p>&#8211;photos by Milo Farineau</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/100321/dave-tim-concert-rakes-dough-and-listeners#comments_BreakingNewsFeatureddave matthewsOnline onlySun, 21 Aug 2011 11:21:04 +0000hawes100321 at http://www.readthehook.comScalped: Dave & Tim show drew some 'cockroaches'http://www.readthehook.com/100277/scalped-dave-and-tim-show-draws-cockroaches
<p>So you wanted tickets to the sold-out Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds show on Saturday August 20 at the nTelos Pavilion? You could still get them even a day before the concert, but you might have paid a pretty penny more than the $50 per ticket most concertgoers paid. On Craigslist, for instance, one website&#8211; clickyticket.com&#8211; had a variety of seats available ranging from the low $400s up to nearly $800. One ebay listing brought in $1,500 for two VIP tickets&#8211; more than twice their $300 apiece face value. <br /><br />According to Pavilion GM Kirby Hutto, scalping&#8211; when tickets are sold by a third party, most often for a profit&#8211; is an increasing problem at the Pavilion, thanks in part to the ever-higher-profile nature of the acts coming to Charlottesville.<br /><br />"The whole scalping world has just exploded over the last few years," says Hutto, who notes that unlike D.C., Virginia has no laws prohibiting the resale of tickets, no matter how high the profit margin. That leaves Virginia venues without much recourse, says Hutto, noting that if a scalper mentions the actual seat number in an online ad, the Pavilion may cancel the ticket and then resell it. Most scalpers, however, are craftier than that and list only the section or row of the tickets they're listing, making it nearly impossible to determine which tickets are being sold fraudulently.<br /><br />Even if you have hundreds of dollars to spend, buying a ticket from a third-party seller is risky business.<br /><br />"A lot of people are getting ripped off completely," Hutto explains, noting that certain particularly unscrupulous scalpers make counterfeit tickets, which will be worthless when the ticketholder shows up on concert night. <br /><br />"It becomes a customer service issue because the guy who took their money is long gone," Hutto says, describing understandably upset patrons who may have traveled long distance and paid big bucks only to be turned away at the gate. <br /><br />"It's a pain in our existence, both to fight these scalpers and to deal with the aftermath of the ones that are outright thieves."<br /><br />Such unscrupulous scalping tactics seem even more egregious in the case of the Dave and Tim show, given that it was a charity event, with ticketholders asked to visit justgive.org to select the charity they'd like to receive the full original value of their ticket plus fees. Fortunately, says Hutto, even those people who purchased scalped tickets are able to donate the face value of the ticket&#8211; assuming the scalper hasn't already chosen the charity&#8211; and that the ticket is a real one.<br /><br />The Pavilion boss has simple advice for making sure your tickets will actually gain you entrance.<br /><br />"I would never give anyone cash for the ticket until I've seen the ticket," says Hutto, reminding concertgoers that all Pavilion tickets are printed on nTelos Wireless Pavilion ticket stock and feature an image of the Pavilion in the background and a barcode. <br /><br />"I've seen ads where it says 'two lawn tickets, two great seats,' and at that point you don't know what you're getting," says Hutto. "An event like this brings out some of the cockroaches who see an opportunity to make easy money. If people aren't savvy, they can get ripped off."</p>
<p>If it looked like scalpers were getting their comeuppance at presstime, with bidding on some ebay listings holding steady right at the ticket's face value, that changed hours before the show. A pair of upper orchestra seats&nbsp;<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/DAVE-MATTHEWS-TIM-REYNOLDS-NTELOS-PAVILLION-SEATS-/300589678151?pt=US_Tickets_all_in_one&amp;hash=item45fc8a7e47">offered</a> by Kansas-based "getmetickets" pulled in $430&#8211; nearly triple face value. And a single lawn ticket (with Water Street garage parking pass thrown in) sold for $215, more than four times its $50 face value.</p>
<p><em>&#8211;Updated for print publication Monday, August 22 at 5:10pm</em></p>
http://www.readthehook.com/100277/scalped-dave-and-tim-show-draws-cockroaches#comments_BreakingNews_MusicFeaturedEntertainmentdave matthewsscalpingtim reynoldsNewsThu, 18 Aug 2011 15:55:42 +0000courteney100277 at http://www.readthehook.comDave & Tim announce first C'ville show since '93http://www.readthehook.com/99712/dave-tim-announce-first-cville-show-93
<p>It's been over 17 years since the now internationally celebrated duo known as Dave Matthews &amp; Tim Reynolds performed in Charlottesville, but they'll return August 20 for a charity show at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion. Tickets went on sale Friday for members of <a href="ttp://www.warehouse.davematthewsband.com/">the Warehouse</a>, the Dave Matthews Band fan club, and <a href="http://www.davematthewsband.com%3E%3Chttp://www.davematthewsband.com">to the general public</a> on Friday, August 5.</p>
<p>The duo got its start in 1993 at the now-defunct Prism Coffeehouse and last performed here on December 12 of that year at the Jefferson Theater. After a couple of years performing on the East Coast college circuit with bandmates hand-picked from Charlottesville clubs, Matthews went on to worldwide acclaim as the frontman of Dave Matthews Band, which is taking a hiatus this year from its usual relentless summertime concert tour.</p>
<p>Tickets for the Dave &amp; Tim show reportedly sold out in mere minutes with various reports of frustrated would-be concert-goers.</p>
<p>&#8211;<em>updated for print on August 8 at 2:23pm</em></p>
http://www.readthehook.com/99712/dave-tim-announce-first-cville-show-93#comments_BreakingNews_Musicdave matthewstim reynoldsNewsThu, 28 Jul 2011 14:39:23 +0000hawes99712 at http://www.readthehook.comGrownup flicks: ATO launches feature films with 'Mao'http://www.readthehook.com/66562/grownup-flicks-ato-launches-feature-films-mao
<!&#8211; This will not be inserted &#8211;><!&#8211; This will not be inserted &#8211;><div class="captionLeftLandscape"><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/news-mao-movie.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-38329" title="news-mao-movie" src="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/news-mao-movie-325x215.jpg" alt="news-mao-movie" width="325" height="215" /></a><strong>Chi Cao and Camilla Vergotis strike a ballet pose in the new ATO film.</strong><br />
<small>PHOTO BY SIMON CARDWELL/SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS/ATO PICTURES</small></div>
<p>With Netflix and YouTube grabbing eyeballs, and with blockbusters expanding their hold on the movie-going public, the problem stymieing indie filmmakers has only intensified. Getting an independent film distributed is tough.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Enter the Charlottesville-New York firm called <a href="http://www.atopictures.com/about.php">ATO Pictures</a>. In its first foray in feature film distribution, the company teams up with Samuel Goldwyn Films to bring <em><a href="http://www.maoslastdancer-movie.com/flash.html">Mao's Last Dancer</a></em> to Charlottesville's <a href="http://www.visulitecinemas.com/"> Vinegar Hill Theatre</a> on September 24.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace"><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/Stories/2002/02/21/dmbeatTheSpaceBetweenDmbMa.html">Dave Matthews and Coran Capshaw </a>co-founded ATO, so it appears there are deep enough pockets to overcome some of the hurdles like distribution and financing that face the foundering indie industry.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"We saw this in Toronto and fell in love with it," says <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/Stories/2003/02/20/facetimePerfectFitFilmmake.html">ATO CEO and co-founder Temple Fennell</a>. "We didn't produce it; we acquired it."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">ATO's strategy veers sharply from the studio formula geared to the male-12-to-29 audience, explains Fennell. "We're really focusing on the 30-plus market," he says. "When they look at the paper on Friday night, there's very little there for them."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">ATO is also taking a page from the DMB/Capshaw playbook and its model of connecting directly with the consumer, says Fennell. Before DVDs, on-demand, and Netflix took hold, the movie studios, much like 20th-century record labels, controlled all the shelf space for distribution.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"Now that's all changing," says Fennell. "We don't compete with the Carmikes and Regals."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">There are only 6,000 theater complexes in the country, he says, and of those, 1,500 are single-screen cinemas like Vinegar Hill. That's where ATO-model films will appear.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">ATO released <em>Mao</em> August 20 in about a dozen markets, in what's called a "platform release," says Fennell. By the local release September 24, it will be in about 50 markets.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"We want it there with word of mouth," he says.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace"><em>Mao's Last Dancer</em> is the true story of Chinese-born Li Cunxin, who is plucked from the impoverished world in which he was born to become the principal male dancer with the Houston Ballet. Directed by Bruce "Driving Miss Daisy" Beresford and starring Chi Cao and Amanda Schull, as well as <em>Twin Peaks</em> alums Kyle MacLachlan and Joan Chen, it's an "incredible story of will and perseverance," says Fennell.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Spoiler alert: Bring tissue. "It's hard not to weep at the end," warns Fennell.</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/66562/grownup-flicks-ato-launches-feature-films-mao#comments_BreakingNewsBusinessFeaturedEntertainmentATO Picturesdave matthewsTemple Fennellvinegar hill theaterTue, 21 Sep 2010 16:33:08 +0000lisa66562 at http://www.readthehook.comDM eat: Best of What's a Food Hubhttp://www.readthehook.com/68128/dm-eat-best-whats-food-hub
<!&#8211; This will not be inserted &#8211;><!&#8211; This will not be inserted &#8211;><div class="captionLeftLandscape"><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/food-maplehill.jpg"></a><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/dish-maplehill1.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-30480" title="dish-maplehill1" src="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/dish-maplehill1-325x243.jpg" alt="dish-maplehill1" width="325" height="243" /></a><strong>The greenhouse at Maple Hill Farm.</strong><br />
<small>PHOTO BY EMILY MANLEY<br />
</small></div>
<p><a> </a><a href="http://www.bestofwhatsaround.org/" target="_self">Best of What’s Around</a>, <strong>Dave Matthews' </strong>vision for an organic farm operation serving the local community, began as a <a href="http://www.localharvest.org/csa/">CSA</a> in 2002, but last year Matthews and his wife, <strong>Ashley Harper</strong>, announced on the farm’s website that a “difficult decision as a family” was made: to cease operations.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">For months, the <strong>Scottsville area</strong> operation has been dormant, the equipment languishing, the fields barren”Šuntil the <strong> <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/07/16/farmers-helper-local-food-hub-opens/">Local Food Hub</a></strong> recently stepped in.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">“The Matthews have always had a certain vision for a community-oriented working farm and learning place,” says the Hub’s <strong>Emily Manley</strong>, who says she doesn't know why the couple decided to stop its CSA.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">“They approached the Local Food Hub to explore some opportunities," says Manley. "Turns out our goals and objectives were and continue to be in line with what they are looking for&#8211;- and vice versa.&#8221;<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">The seventy-acre, certified-organic farm will now become the Hub’s <strong>Educational Farm at Maple Hill</strong>, a place where food is grown for local distribution, and also a working classroom.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">“This information sharing and hands-on training is an integral part of our mission to keep small farming sustainable,” says Manley, “while also inspiring the next generation of farmers and local food advocates.&#8221;<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Manley says the greenhouse has come to life this spring with thousands of tomato plants and countless broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, and onion seedlings. “We’re just waiting,” she says, "for the frost date to pass so they go out in the field."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Asparagus is already sprouting, beets are in the ground, and berry plants have been composted.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">“It’s kind of like the calm before the storm,” says Manley, “except for the chickens, which are always crazy."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">
<!&#8211; This will not be inserted &#8211;><!&#8211; This will not be inserted &#8211;><div class="captionRightLandscape" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/dish-asperagras.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-30478" title="dish-asperagras" src="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/dish-asperagras-325x243.jpg" alt="dish-asperagras" width="325" height="243" /></a><strong>Asparagus is already sprouting from the ground.</strong><br />
<small>PHOTO BY EMILY MANLEY</small></div>
</p><p>Manley expects to see approximately five acres cultivated this year, and that 25 percent of the crop will be donated to a range of community soup kitchens, food banks, and pantries, including <strong>Blue Ridge Area Food Bank</strong>, <strong>the Haven</strong>, and <strong>Bread of Life</strong>. The remaining produce will be used for distribution through the Hub’s warehouse to a variety of grocery stores, restaurants, institutions and schools in the area.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Unfortunately, Manley says they will not be operating as a CSA or any other direct-to-consumer model.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">“This produce is being grown specifically to fill gaps in supply that our area farms are currently unable to fill,” she says.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Manley says the farm will also enable them to test a range of different plant varietals and growing methods with the end-goal of sharing their findings with the local farming community.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">“By using Maple Hill as a true educational farm,” she says, "we're hoping to increase the efficiency, productivity and profitability of small farmers in our area."</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/68128/dm-eat-best-whats-food-hub#comments_BreakingNews_FoodEducationHealthOutdoorsBest of What's Arounddave matthewslocal food huborganic farmingThu, 01 Apr 2010 21:11:43 +0000Dave McNair68128 at http://www.readthehook.comDave woulda stuck cheatin' Edwards with stiff billhttp://www.readthehook.com/68906/dave-woulda-stuck-cheatin-edwards-stiff-bill
<p><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/news-dmb.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-7675 alignleft" title="news-dmb" src="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/news-dmb-140x140.jpg" alt="news-dmb" width="140" height="140" /></a>Charlottesville-based musical superstar Dave Matthews&#8211;- unimpressed that disgraced politician John Edwards and his career-killing paramour allegedly chose Dave Matthews Band's "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYkljoL7PYA">Steady as We Go</a>" as their song and wanted the DMB to perform at a contemplated rooftop wedding&#8211;- would have charged "an incredible amount of money" if he didn't reject the arrangement outright, according to <a href="http://www.accesshollywood.com/dave-matthews-laughs-off-his-connection-to-john-edwards-scandal_article_28402">Access Hollywood</a>. The wedding allegations will appear in an impending book by a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Young_%28political_operative%29">former Edwards aide</a> who claims the song&#8211;- which features a pair of star-crossed lovers and such <a href="http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Steady-As-We-Go-lyrics-Dave-Matthews-Band-and-Dave-Matthews/552C1D83C298480F48257000000AEBB9">lines</a> as "So if the road gets rocky, girl, just steady as we go"&#8211;- resonated with the cheating ex-Senator and the mother of his love child. When the musical allegations emerged in September, <em>New York</em> magazine examined six songs likely to enthrall the illicit couple; however, "Steady as We Go" missed <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/09/which_songs_would_dave_matthew.html">that list</a>.</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/68906/dave-woulda-stuck-cheatin-edwards-stiff-bill#comments_BreakingNewsEntertainmentGovt/Politicsdave matthewsdmbSun, 31 Jan 2010 14:14:51 +0000hawes68906 at http://www.readthehook.comDMB top touring act of the decadehttp://www.readthehook.com/69162/dmb-top-touring-act-decade
<p><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/news-dmb.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-7675 alignleft" title="news-dmb" src="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/news-dmb-140x140.jpg" alt="news-dmb" width="140" height="140" /></a>Pollstar has named <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&amp;q=site%3Areadthehook.com+Dave+Matthews+&amp;btnG=Search&amp;aq=f&amp;oq=&amp;aqi=" target="_self">Dave Mathews Band</a> the <a href="http://www.pollstar.com/blogs/news/archive/2009/12/18/702459.aspx">highest-grossing touring act of the decade</a>. The band grossed $529 million and sold 11 million tickets, about 6 million more than Celine Dion (second at $522 million), U2 (sixth at $391 million), and the Rolling Stones (fifth at $426 million). Not bad for a bartender at Miller’s and a group of long-time local musicians who got their start playing a rooftop-party on South Street.</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/69162/dmb-top-touring-act-decade#comments_BreakingNewsEntertainmentPeopledave matthewspollstarMon, 21 Dec 2009 04:03:44 +0000Dave McNair69162 at http://www.readthehook.comEarly Dave & Tim show releasedhttp://www.readthehook.com/70126/early-dave-tim-show-released
<p><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/dmb-dave-prism.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-19792 alignleft" title="dmb-dave-prism" src="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/dmb-dave-prism.jpg" alt="dmb-dave-prism" width="150" height="150" /></a>MusicToday has released what may be the first public Dave Matthews &amp; Tim Reynolds acoustic performance, a show that took place right here in Charlottesville at the now defunct Prism Coffeehouse on April 22, 1993. This show predated both <em>Under the Table and Dreaming</em> and <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remember_Two_Things">Remember Two Things</a></em>, though some of the 23 songs played this evening would later debut on those discs. <a href="http://clicks1.musictoday.com/cts/click?q=1;108165;WO0s9kaghIMGyyGNussdqQ%3D%3D">The digital download</a> costs $13.99.</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/70126/early-dave-tim-show-released#comments_BreakingNews_Musicdave matthewsprism coffeehouseFri, 25 Sep 2009 09:19:38 +0000hawes70126 at http://www.readthehook.comMr. 460,000: Dave's disc sells well http://www.readthehook.com/94117/news-mr-460000-daves-disc-sells-well
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><b>SOME DEVILISH NUMBERS:</b> As expected, in its first week, Dave Matthews' first solo album, <i>Some Devil</i>, sold really well: 469,000 discs, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Only <i>Speakerboxx/The Love Below</i>, the new double album by hip-hoppers OutKast, released the same day, September 23, did better, with sales of 509,000.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><b><img src="/images/issue0235/news-dave.jpg" border="0" /> <br />The new Dave album</b> <br />COURTESY RCA</p>
<p>#</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/94117/news-mr-460000-daves-disc-sells-well#commentsdave matthewsNewsMon, 27 Jun 2011 10:58:14 +0000anon94117 at http://www.readthehook.comSolo Devil: Dave is Dave with another bandhttp://www.readthehook.com/94085/news-solo-devil-dave-dave-another-band
<p>Dave Matthews is some devil. Or perhaps just devilish. He's been quoted as saying the collection of songs that constitute his debut solo album "didn't fit" with his band.</p>
<p>Hmm. Any of the 14 tracks on <i>Some Devil</i> would fit within the context of DMB. It's refreshing to hear Matthews work with other musicians Trey Anastasio, Tim Reynolds, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, etc. But while the album is receiving some accolades, many critics don't consider it the distinct or unusual product one would expect from a solo project.</p>
<p>"It's no surprise," says veteran New York freelancer Nick Catucci, who writes for the <i>Village Voice, Blender</i>, and <i>Spin</i>. "I think he has to get outside the constraints [of his band]." A million seller? Yes, says Catucci, but a musical disappointment nonetheless.</p>
<p>Waldo Jaquith, reporter/editor at Nancies.org agrees that it's bound to succeed. "In all," he writes, "<i>Some Devil</i> manages to be smooth without being slick, understated without sacrificing strength, sweet without being syrupy. What <i>Everyday</i> did with unbridled enthusiasm, <i>Some Devil</i> does with confident perfectionism. Should Dave Matthews Band decide to perform these songs next time they tour, they will no doubt be received with great enthusiasm."</p>
<p>The CD opens with the somewhat upbeat "Do Do," slips into the more melancholy "So Damn Lucky," and "Gravedigger" (the current single and video), and then becomes classic Matthews&#8211; which is to say, deals with his typical themes of love, loss, and the past.</p>
<p>Artistically, with Steve Harris as producer, the album resembles the somewhat reviled <i>Everyday</i> more than anything else Matthews and his band have produced. There are singles here. The longest song, "An' Another Thing," a retooled version of the previously released "Another Thing," clocks in at 5:29 minutes.</p>
<p>"Gravedigger" appears twice, once with full accompaniment and then, as the last song, acoustically. The album makes you think "Busted Stuff Part II," not "Here's something new and different."</p>
<p>As expected, "Gravedigger," the first single from the album, is receiving significant airplay. As WNRN's Mike Friend says, it's not a rocker, but it's classic Matthews.</p>
<p><i>Some Devil</i> is not garage band rock. If anything, it's Matthews doing what he does best: sometimes Beatle-esque, more often infused with Matthews' familiar guitar and vocal stylings. Still an interesting and compelling recording especially without the diversions (worthy as they are) of Boyd Tinsley's violin, the honking sax of LeRoi Moore, and the jazz inflections of Carter Beauford the record is a sign of Matthews' maturity beyond DMB.</p>
<p><i>The Washington Post </i>sums up <i>Some Devil</i> as "inoffensive," a damning-with-faint praise often lobbed at the DMB by the unfaithful. Nonetheless, the faithful are many, and the album is expected to go gold, if not platinum.</p>
<p>Dave's label, RCA, has high hopes for gaining the #1 slot on the charts. However, on the same day as <i>Some Devil</i>'s release, hip-hop band Outkast released its latest album, <i>Speakerboxxx: The Love Below</i>.</p>
<p>"We're only hearing good numbers," says RCA spokesperson Meredith Israel. "We think the big competition is going to be Outkast. We're crossing our fingers."</p>
<p><b><img src="/images/issues/2003/0239/news-dave.jpg" border="0" /></b><br />The Dave<br />PHOTO BY BARNABY DRAPER</p>
<p>#</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/94085/news-solo-devil-dave-dave-another-band#commentsdave matthewsdmbNewsMon, 27 Jun 2011 10:56:44 +0000anon94085 at http://www.readthehook.comSolo swim: Dave's debut disc due soonhttp://www.readthehook.com/93955/news-solo-swim-daves-debut-disc-due-soon
<p>Three days after the 54-show Dave Matthews Band summer tour comes to a close in Atlanta on September 20, a new odyssey will begin. RCA, the band's record label, releases <i>Some Devil</i>, the highly anticipated debut of David Matthews as a solo artist and his first collection of songs without the band.</p>
<p>Already the first disc's first single, "Gravedigger," has been handed over to radio stations and is getting heavy play, including on Charlottesville's WNRN.</p>
<p>"A screaming loud rock song it's not; it's a little dark," says 'NRN general manager Mike Friend, who predicts that the song will be popular on alternative and modern rock stations.</p>
<p>"Gravedigger" is supported by the obligatory video (shot in Montana and directed by Mark Pellington, whose credits include Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" and U2's "One"). The song has also become a staple of DMB's live shows this year and is one of four on the album also featuring Trey Anastasio, leader of Phish, the DMB's closest rival for "jam-band" supremacy. Number one in tour revenue last year? DMB.</p>
<p>A tour featuring the trio of Matthews, frequent collaborator and "soul mate" Tim Reynolds, and Anastasio is expected later this year. With all this support, Matthews' maiden recording is expected to burst onto the charts with the full force of the million-selling status his band's albums have achieved in the past.</p>
<p>Fans of the band have long speculated that Matthews, who continues to dabble in film, would eventually abandon his band in favor of a solo career. The rumor was fueled largely by the controversial 2001 album, <i>Everyday</i>. Discarding recordings cut in Charlottesville, Matthews blindsided both his band and fans by huddling in L.A. with veteran hitmaker Glenn Ballard to produce an album that yielded several hits and a Grammy nomination while earning the scorn of his cult-like following.</p>
<p>As if to redeem himself, Matthews recruited Stephen Harris, the band's longtime engineer (and protégé of Steve Lillywhite, revered producer of most of the DMB catalog prior to <i>Everyday</i>), to guide the follow-up, 2002's <i>Busted Stuff</i>, which was salvaged from the Charlottesville sessions. For <i>Some Devil</i>, Harris is again in the producer's chair, a factor that doubtless instills confidence among Matthews' legion of fans.</p>
<p>Recorded in his Seattle basement studio this spring, Matthews teamed with Reynolds, Anastasio, bassist Tony Hall (of the Bob Dylan Band), and Brady Blade Jr. (drummer for the Indigo Girls). Also making contributions are the Seattle Symphony and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The 14-track album, according to recent interviews, is a collection of stories, a series of songs "that didn't really fit with the band," he told <i>MTV News</i>. "I started with those, and it just grew into a full record. I kind of thought it would be fun to put out.</p>
<p>"Writing in my garage," Matthews told <i>Rolling Stone</i> recently, "1,000 miles away from anyone else, ideas started coming songs that were away from the sound of the band. After a while, it started taking on a personality. I figured, why not?"</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, Matthews dwells on the themes of loss, both of loved ones departed and those no longer among his personal relationships. "It's all pretty personal," Matthews told the magazine.</p>
<p>The release comes on the heels of the flop of <i>True Reflections</i>, the debut of DMB violinist Boyd Tinsley. While Tinsley's distinctive fiddling helped define the DMB sound, his solo album&#8211; released in June&#8211; was a critical and popular failure (nancies.org said it sold just 10,500 copies in its first week).</p>
<p>Increasingly, Matthews has been residing in the Washington State suburb of Wallingford, where his wife, Ashley, studies homeopathic medicine at nearby Bastyr University.</p>
<p>Mr. and Mrs. Matthews recently celebrated their third wedding anniversary (they were wed at his mom's Albemarle estate, "Blenheim," on August 10, 2000) and the birthdays of their twin daughters Stella and Grace (born a year and five days later).</p>
<p>From all accounts, Matthews is a familiar figure around Seattle, and his comings and goings are frequently documented in the town's alternative weekly, <i>The Stranger</i>.</p>
<p>But DMB fans need not fear this solo outing signals the end of the band. In almost every press report, Matthews clarifies that the group he put together in June 1991 at Eastern Standard restaurant (now Escafé) remains the focal point of his interest and inspiration.</p>
<p>"The experience of working on this album has been great I've learned a lot," Matthews said in a recent RCA press release. "I can't imagine a time when my life doesn't revolve around the band, and I think after making this album I'll have even more to offer as a member of DMB."</p>
<p>While both Matthews and Tinsley have tentative plans for solo tours in support of their respective albums this fall, sources indicate a new live DMB album is set for release in early November.</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/93955/news-solo-swim-daves-debut-disc-due-soon#commentsdave matthewsNewsMon, 27 Jun 2011 10:50:05 +0000anon93955 at http://www.readthehook.comWet Fern: Dry eyes rare at Matthews debuthttp://www.readthehook.com/93449/news-wet-iferni-dry-eyes-rare-matthews-debut
<p><strong></strong></p>
<p>Last Saturday, just a block from New York's Ground Zero, the world's most eagerly awaited phoenix, a troubled film enjoyed a rebirth of its own. <em>Where the Red Fern Grows,</em> the motion picture debut of Dave Matthews, drew a solid ovation and moistened several hundred eyes at its May 3 premiere.</p>
<p>"I cried the whole way through," said Megan Lewis of Westchester County, following the screening at the Tribeca Film Festival. Although acquainted with one of the film's producers, the 40-something audience member says she didn't realize how well the 36-year-old rock star could act.</p>
<p>"I was a little bit skeptical, but he pulled it off," said Lewis. "Dave Matthews did a great job&#8211; so subtle, so understated."</p>
<p>(Charlottesville audiences might be less surprised. In 1990, before creating an eponymous platinum-selling quintet, Matthews starred in the first seasons of both Live Arts and Offstage theater companies.)</p>
<p>At film's end, the rapt six-and-a-half-year-old who'd been sitting next to a reporter pronounced it "great." "But it had some scary parts," he added, quickly erasing tell-tale teardrops.</p>
<p>"Dreams really do come true," casting director Katy Wallin proclaimed when the applause ended. Wallin, who assumed a leadership role in getting the film off the skids and onto the screen, beamed when a reporter described as "seamless" the merger of scenes shot in 1999 with those shot in 2002.</p>
<p>"I'm so happy you said that," said Wallin. "Seamless&#8211; that's such a great word."</p>
<p>Many in the audience had no idea that the film actually began as the brainchild of a now bankrupt screenwriter/director who lost rights to his project after shooting about 75 percent of it on location in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, in the fall of 1999.</p>
<p>Lyman Dayton, who also directed the 1974 film version of the Depression-era tale, had dreamed that his remake would pick up the pace for modern audiences&#8211; especially by showing more raccoon hunting. Ironically, most of the animal sequences were shot by his replacement. Sam Pillsbury, a veteran director of made-for-TV movies (with the notable exception of<em> Free Willy 3: The Rescue</em>), shot most of the 'coon hunting sequences last summer on a Walt Disney lot in Southern California.</p>
<p>One audience member lauded Pillsbury's "vision," and Pillsbury said he was "pleased with the way it came out"&#8211; but passed up the chance to share the credit with the absent Dayton.</p>
<p>The next audience question: Were there any "obstacles" to making this film? This time Pillsbury deferred to producer Katy Wallin who smilingly dodged, "We tried to turn obstacles into opportunities." <em>Next question please</em>!</p>
<p>Outside the theater, workers were busily fixing utility connections in the world's most famous pit. Under a construction canopy below the pock-marked brick facade of the Barclay-Vesey Building, hawkers offered World Trade Center memorabilia.</p>
<p>The theater, a United Artists/Regal 16-plex, was undamaged by the 9/11 attack, but the catastrophe nevertheless closed it for nearly seven months. The Tribeca Film Festival, now in its second year, was created as an overt balm for the beleaguered neighborhood.</p>
<p>In the tradition of <em>Old Yeller</em> and <em>My Dog Skip</em>, the film is a tragic boy-and-his-dogs story. <em>Red Fern</em> is a modest-budget family picture based on a book that's required reading in many&#8211; if not most&#8211; of America's middle schools. It features several megastars of the 1970s: Kris Kristofferson, Ned Beatty, and Mac "I Believe in Music" Davis.</p>
<p>In the Q&amp;A following the screening, most questions were directed to 16-year-old Joseph Ashton, who plays the young protagonist, and to 71-year-old Dabney Coleman, who plays his devilishly good-natured grandpa.</p>
<p>"To tell you the truth," said Coleman, "I'd never heard of David Matthews, but we hit it off pretty well right from the get-go. I really miss him."</p>
<p>Dave didn't attend the premiere, and his Greenwood-based handlers did not return calls seeking comment. He plays the supportive dad, Will Coleman (spelled "Colman" in the book), in all earnestness. One of the film's highlights comes when his son sells enough coonskins to buy dad a new pair of overalls.</p>
<p>"They're fine hounds, son," is one typical bit of Dave dialogue. Here's another: "It's great to see a big coonskin on the smokehouse wall in the morning."</p>
<p>This is not a film for jaded modernists.</p>
<p>Jeanette Garvey traveled from Ohio to attend the Tribeca Festival. And she'd heard about the film's circuitous journey. "The final outcome was a great success," Garvey said. "I fell in love with the dogs&#8211; even the raccoons."</p>
<p>Meanwhile, back in Tahlequah, the tiny Oklahoma town where filming began&#8211; and abruptly ended&#8211; in the fall of 1999, unpaid merchants are still fuming.</p>
<p>X-Press Rental and Sales, for instance, never got a penny of the approximately $3,600 it was owed, says owner Foix Stauss. "This community opened its arms, but they crapped on everybody," he adds. "The Screen Actors Guild made sure all the actors got paid, but no one here has ever been paid."</p>
<p>The Tribeca premiere attracted little media interest&#8211; although a camera crew from <em>Variety</em> busied itself getting pictures of the young star, best known until now for his pre-teen starring role in <em>The Education of Little Tree</em>.</p>
<p>Conventional wisdom says that a movie about a boy and his 'coon hounds is headed straight for Sunday night television, but the new owner of the picture, Crusader Entertainment, is holding out for theatrical release.</p>
<p>"We're screening it for distributors now," says the company's chief operating officer, William J. Immerman.</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/93449/news-wet-iferni-dry-eyes-rare-matthews-debut#commentsdave matthewsNewsMon, 27 Jun 2011 10:30:39 +0000hawes93449 at http://www.readthehook.comDave's debut: Red Fern to premiere at Tribecahttp://www.readthehook.com/93339/news-daves-debut-red-fern-premiere-tribeca
<p><strong></strong></p>
<p>Amid continuing litigation, the fledgling movie career of Dave Matthews will emerge next month after three years trapped in film cans. The two screenings of <em>Where the Red Fern Grows</em>, set for May 3 and 4 at the Tribeca Film Festival, represent the first public viewings of the highly anticipated screen debut of the musical superstar.</p>
<p>"<em>Red Fern</em> to Dave Matthews fans means three years of disappointment and waiting," says Waldo Jaquith, an authority on the home-grown band. "Lucky for the producers of this film," Jaquith says, "Dave Matthews Band has only become more popular."</p>
<p>Indeed. <em>Rolling Stone</em> says 1.5 million people bought tickets to see DMB in 2002. "More people saw the Dave Matthews Band last year than any other band in the world," says Jaquith, the public face of nancies.org, the most popular DMB fan site.</p>
<p>Matthews, who divides his time between Seattle and Keene, chose a supporting role in this remake of a children's classic as his film debut. Based on the novel by Wilson Rawls, <em>Red Fern</em> is a tear-jerking story of a poor boy and his hunting dogs.</p>
<p>It must also be a tear-jerker to Lyman Dayton, the writer/producer/director who lost control of the film last year. Dayton, based in St. George, Utah, directed the original 1974 film, which, like the novel, has become a staple of middle school curricula. But he ran out of cash during the 1999 filming in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and the Screen Actors Guild effectively shut down the project by ordering the unpaid crew off the set.</p>
<p>At one point, Matthews himself made a six-figure secured loan to the production. But it wasn't enough.</p>
<p>A year ago, Crusader, a California-based firm specializing in family fare, bought the unfinished film out of bankruptcy for $975,000 and then proceeded to spend over $3 million finishing it under the direction of Sam Pillsbury (<em>Fifteen and Pregnant; Free Willy 3: The Rescue</em>).</p>
<p>"We think it's better than the first film, so we're very high on it," says William J. Immerman, Crusader's chief operating officer.</p>
<p>Crusader sent a technician up to Seattle to visit Dave for "looping," the process of re-taping unclear dialogue. "He likes the film," says Immerman of the bi-coastal musician. "We're hoping Dave can come to the world premiere, but he's in the studio mixing his album."</p>
<p>While the film has yet to secure a distributor, Immerman hopes for a wide national release along the lines of 2000's <em>My Dog Skip. </em></p>
<p><em>&nbsp;</em>The Tribeca Film Festival was launched last year as a salve for the funky neighborhood of converted warehouses near the site of the demolished World Trade Center. Co-founded by Tribeca resident Robert De Niro, the Festival was the site of last year's world premieres for <em>About A Boy, Insomnia, </em>and the most recent installment of <em>Star Wars. </em></p>
<p><em>&nbsp;</em>Since last summer's <em>Hook</em> cover story [September 19, 2002: "Dave's debut: Disasters stymie Matthews' move into movies"], bankrupt director Dayton has sued the film's new owners in California Superior Court, but Immerman says the suit eventually wound up before the original bankruptcy judge in Utah, who dismissed it. Dayton's appeal is pending.</p>
<p>"We're not taking it very seriously at this point," says Immerman. "When you buy a movie out of bankruptcy, you know there are going to be certain lingering problems. There are always going to be one or more disgruntled creditors. But we analyzed the situation and felt we had a pretty good case. We're going forward."</p>
<p>But Dayton's attorney doesn't see it that way. He says Immerman and others Dayton had recruited to finish the project colluded to limit the bidding in the bankruptcy auction.</p>
<p>"They went behind his back and bought it from an unwitting judge," says the lawyer, Russell S. Walker. "The creditors really got ripped off."</p>
<p>While he says his client considers the finished production "sub-standard," Walker admits that securing a settlement, rather than winning back control of the film, is the new objective.</p>
<p>Does Immerman feel bad that Dayton lost his labor of love? "We recognize his creative input," says Immerman. "At least there's a film out with his name on it&#8211; instead of sitting in a laboratory somewhere."</p>
<p>Has Immerman heard from Dayton? "Other than the lawsuit, no," Immerman says, adding that veteran actors Kris Kristofferson and Dabney Coleman will join the film's teenage star, Joseph Ashton, at the Tribeca premiere.</p>
<p>"It looks like I'm gonna be there," confirms Ashton. An eighth grader when filming began in 1999, Ashton is now a high school junior enjoying "the best grades I've had in a long time."</p>
<p>Perhaps he can thank <em>Red Fern</em>'s limbo. While the Anaheim area 16-year-old has become a popular cartoon voice, including the lead role of Otto on the Nickelodeon series <em>Rocket Powered</em>, his last starring role was 1997's <em>The Education of Little Tree. </em></p>
<p><em>&nbsp;</em>"I still do get fans who email me from <em>Little Tree</em>," says Ashton. Still, he concedes, "I'd like to build up a name for myself."</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/93339/news-daves-debut-red-fern-premiere-tribeca#commentsdave matthewsNewsMon, 27 Jun 2011 10:28:08 +0000hawes93339 at http://www.readthehook.comDave's debut: Disasters stymie Matthews' move into movieshttp://www.readthehook.com/92499/cover-story-daves-debut-disasters-stymie-matthews-move-movies
<p>Charlottesville's most famous singer has suffered a strange setback to his fledgling film career. For over two years, footage of his first feature film has been stuck in film cans, and a tug-of-war may soon erupt over the movie's ownership.</p>
<p>Filming of <em>Where the Red Fern Grows</em>, a remake of the kids' classic, was about 75 percent complete by the time the unpaid actors walked off the set. However, several key scenes remained unshot, and the maturing face of the film's teenage star, Joseph Ashton, threatened to make all the old footage useless. Meanwhile, claims from unpaid companies at the main filming location, a tiny town in Oklahoma's Ozark Mountains, were piling up.</p>
<p>How did Dave's debut derail?</p>
<p><strong>Red Ink-ville </strong></p>
<p><strong>&nbsp;</strong>It started out so idyllically. The tiny town of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, an hour southeast of Tulsa&#8211; population 14,458&#8211; had its last brush with fame about a decade ago when David Letterman called it his "home office." Local merchants expected another financial boost when a film crew arrived in October 1999. What actually arrived, however, was an out-of-cash and eventually bankrupt film company.</p>
<p>"They owe everybody in Tahlequah," says Foix Stauss, whose company, X-Press Rental and Sales, got stuck with a bill of about $3,300 for renting generators, forklifts, and airless paint-sprayers.</p>
<p>"I probably never had anyone rent as many rooms," says Vechil Eller, owner of the Tahlequah Motor Lodge. While Dave Matthews stayed at the Holiday Inn Express (which claims a debt of $16,000), Eller's Lodge housed most of the crew, which allegedly ran up a tab of $120,000. While the debtor disputes the amount, it may be a moot point because unsecured creditors&#8211; the ones who don't hold any collateral&#8211; rarely see a penny in bankruptcy cases.</p>
<p>"You can get a judgment," says Hugh Dotson, whose Dotson-Roberts Lumber company got stiffed for about $4,000, "but that don't pay our bills, does it?"</p>
<p>"This is not a rich county," says Murv Jacob, a sign painter who was never paid.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, back at the Lodge, Eller says he's "getting used to it." The massive debt hasn't erased the excitement from having members of his family&#8211; as well as two of his own vintage cars&#8211; playing roles in the film. And Eller's 30-inch television and ability to tune in the Lennox Lewis vs. Evander Holyfield fight on pay-per-view lured Matthews and other cast members to Eller's house on November 13, 1999.</p>
<p>"I happen to be the only one with satellite TV," Eller explains.</p>
<p><strong>Dayton's passion </strong></p>
<p><strong>&nbsp;</strong><em>Red Fern</em> director Lyman Dayton says he was working with a budget under $5 million, a small sum by Hollywood standards. But then Lyman Dayton isn't working from Hollywood; he's based in St. George, Utah.</p>
<p>A 60-year-old veteran producer, Dayton has made 15 films&#8211; including the original 1974 version of <em>Red Fern</em>. Also shot in Tahlequah, it earned a spot on noted critic Jeffrey Lyons' "Top 100" list, and Dayton says the video continues to rent and sell well.</p>
<p><em>Red Fern</em> is the story of a poor boy and his two redbone hounds who chase some raccoons into a giant sycamore tree. Besides pacing the Depression-era story for modern audiences, Dayton says he wanted to make the hunting sequences come alive.</p>
<p>"This time," says Dayton, "we really show some hunting. You'll see it; you'll feel it."</p>
<p><img src="/images/issue0033/cover-kidanddave.jpg" alt="" /><br /><strong>Joseph Ashton and Dave Matthews take direction. </strong></p>
<p><strong>&nbsp;</strong>PHOTO COURTESY RED FERN PRODUCTIONS</p>
<p>Dayton also wanted to show more of the local topography and local Cherokee culture. Tahlequah, after all, is headquarters of the Cherokee Nation. In the new film, the boy is supposed to be part Cherokee. "In the old film," says Dayton, "the family's kind of Nordic."</p>
<p>As for Matthews, Dayton lauds the Albemarle-based actor as "incredibly natural." He says Matthews' decision to launch his feature film career with such a quiet role as the boy's father was "wise" and "parallel to the way he's built his musical career."</p>
<p>Dayton learned a bit about grassroots growth by tracking the continued success of the book, written by the late Wilson Rawls. <em>Where the Red Fern Grows</em> was published in 1961. Since then, so many teachers have made the tale part of their curriculum that <em>Publishers Weekly</em> ranks it #5 on the all-time list of best-selling kids paperback books. Its impressive 6.8 million copies sold drubs such well-known titles as <em>Little House on the Prairie,</em> <em>The Catcher in the Rye</em>, and <em>The Little Prince</em>.</p>
<p>Because Dayton controlled the right to remake the film, he says, "We kept getting called by the studios. They had done their homework, obviously, and saw the business possibilities."</p>
<p>Dayton, however, decided to raise the money himself. That turned out to be a big problem.</p>
<p><strong>Fun on the set </strong></p>
<p><strong></strong>With the help of Katy Wallin casting, Dayton was able to land two of the most veteran character actors around, Dabney Coleman and Ned Beatty, plus one of the biggest musical stars of seventies, Mac "I Believe in Music" Davis&#8211; and one of the biggest music stars of today, Dave Matthews.</p>
<p>The actors arrived in Tahlequah in October 1999, for filming at locations by the Illinois River and in the hills around the town.</p>
<p>Dayton says Matthews and Davis entertained the set by occasionally grabbing guitars and singing. During a break from filming, however, Matthews' strumming was dealt a setback when he broke a finger while horseback riding.</p>
<p>Although unpaid, Tahlequah artist Murv Jacob thinks the world of Dave Matthews. "I'm Cherokee, and everyone in town's at least part Cherokee. I was starting to think Matthews was too&#8211; the way he fit in."</p>
<p>Teenage star Joseph Ashton says he had no idea of the South African-born singer's fame until Matthews took him to the local Red Lobster for his 13th birthday and strangers started perking up. "I really didn't know who he was," says Ashton. "He never came off as a big rock star."</p>
<p><img src="/images/issue0033/cover-daveinhat.jpg" alt="" /><br /><strong>Dave Matthews as "Pa" Colman. </strong></p>
<p><strong></strong>PHOTO COURTESY RED FERN PRODUCTIONS</p>
<p>All Ashton knew was that Matthews was a fledgling actor sporting denim overalls and a wide-brimmed hat&#8211; he plays a character called "Pa," after all. So Ashton, who has been acting since the age of one (a McDonald's commercial), offered some on-set advice.</p>
<p>"I'd give him clues or hints that I've learned over the years," says Ashton, "like not looking at the camera." ("Everyone was giving me tips," says Matthews. "I didn't know what the hell I was doing.")</p>
<p>A few days later, when Ashton opened a magazine and saw Matthews' face, it dawned on him: "He was this big-time star."</p>
<p>The good times in Tallequah were not to last.</p>
<p>While many local businesses were willing to indulge tardy bill-paying, the powerful Screen Actors Guild, the actors' union back in Los Angeles, would not.</p>
<p>In late November 1999, the SAG fired off a letter ordering all talent to withhold their services. Although just a few more days of location filming remained, the actors walked away, and the production unceremoniously ground to a halt.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>The flaming wig </strong></p>
<p><strong></strong>What do the stars think of the project? The first words out of Dave Matthews' mouth: "Dabney Coleman is a badass."</p>
<p>But not everyone saw things so jovially. When this reporter first began looking into the story two years ago, the actors hadn't been paid. How did <em>Red Fern</em> sound back then?</p>
<p>"You mention the word," said Dabney Coleman's manager, Michael Black, "and my wig goes on fire."</p>
<p>Black said Coleman considered <em>Red Fern</em> such a "damn good story" that he trimmed his usual fees. "It's not like he's owed $4 million," continued Black, "but I would like to see my client get the rest of the money that's owed him."</p>
<p>Even then Black noted that <em>Red Fern</em> wasn't all drudgery.</p>
<p>"He loved working on the film," says Black. "He loved the town, and he thinks the world of Dave. He told me, 'If the picture never comes out, at least I have a new friend named Dave Matthews.'"</p>
<p><strong>Dave the actor </strong></p>
<p><strong></strong>The acting career of Dave Matthews goes back as far&#8211; perhaps farther&#8211; than his musical career. In early 1990, the young Matthews first caught Charlottesville media attention simply for hamming it up behind the bar at Miller's restaurant. In October of that year, this reporter watched him turn the hackneyed role of a used-car salesman into something fresh, likable, and blisteringly cheesy in Offstage Productions' short play called <em>Just Say No</em>.</p>
<p>Shortly thereafter, he starred in one of the late great "Coffeehouse" shows at Live Arts. "We all sat there," remembers longtime Live Arts director Fran Smith, "and knew that minute that this guy wouldn't stay in town long."</p>
<p>Michael Black, Dabney Coleman's manager, says he has seen some of <em>Red Fern</em>'s "dailies," the raw footage. "Dave Matthews," says Black, "can absolutely act."</p>
<p><img src="/images/issue0033/cover-dave1995.jpg" alt="" /><br /><strong>Dave Matthews used to act at Live Arts, site of this 1995 acoustic performance. </strong></p>
<p><strong></strong>PHOTO BY JEN FARIELLO</p>
<p>"Business is very good for Dave Matthews," says Gary Bongiovanni, the editor of <em>Pollstar, </em>a concert industry magazine. In a telephone interview earlier this week, Bongiovanni says that despite one of the lowest average ticket prices, Dave Matthews Band is #1 in North American concert grosses for the last three months.</p>
<p><em>Life</em> magazine lists the Dave Matthews Band as one of the "Top 100 Rock and Rollers of All Time." Clearly, Dave Matthews does not need acting to make money or history.</p>
<p>Although Matthews chipped in over $150,000 to keep the <em>Red Fern</em> alive, it wasn't enough. By the time the actors quit, about $700,000 in bills were still outstanding. Dayton said that an investor failed to come through with the cash. Amounts owed to unsecured creditors include $523,000 to the U.S. Department of Labor, $157,000 in payroll, and $17,000 to FedEx. (Matthews' loan was secured.)</p>
<p>At the time production abruptly ceased, media accounts pegged Legacy Entertainment, run by Morgan Skinner, as the investor who didn't come through. Today, Utah-based Skinner declines to discuss <em>Red Fern </em>in any detail. "We're not involved," he says. But he lost money in the project, right? "To put it mildly," answers Skinner.</p>
<p>What about talk that the film could be released? "You hear a lot of things," says Skinner, referring a reporter to an attorney.</p>
<p><strong>Dayton's dilemma </strong></p>
<p><strong></strong>Things would only get worse for Dayton. While lawsuits over the unpaid bills began filling court dockets in Cherokee County, Dayton put together a videotape to show some of the completed footage to prospective investors and vowed to restart the production.</p>
<p>He kept in touch with Matthews' manager, Coran Capshaw, to find a slot in the busy musician's schedule for filming the remaining scenes. But the claims against the film company kept piling up. In October 2000, Dayton's Red Fern Productions Inc. declared bankruptcy. A year later, he and his wife had declared personal bankruptcy as well.</p>
<p>The SAG began investigating Dayton and filed a separate claim alleging that he hasn't been paying proper residuals on some of the films he's made. Dayton's attorney, calling the move a "surprise," denies the allegation.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, creditors continued to hold out hope for recompense from the production company.</p>
<p>On March 28, 2002, the Utah bankruptcy court oversaw an auction of the assets&#8211; primarily the film negative and the rights to make the picture. The buyers, who paid $975,000, were a consortium made up of Crusader Entertainment, Persik Partners, and a new company called Where the Red Fern Grows LLC.</p>
<p>The auction freed up enough money to pay actors Coleman, Matthews, and other "secured" creditors&#8211; but nothing for the small businesses in Tahlequah. "We never got a penny," says Foix Stauss of X-Press Rental.</p>
<p>As of last week, the Dabney Coleman camp, previously known for its burning wig, was smiling, and Coleman has been contacted by the production's new owners to perform some post-production voice work, typically one of the final stages toward a completed film, says Mark Stoelting in the veteran actor's office. "When that call comes in," says Stoelting, "it means they're close to home base."</p>
<p>But charges of "collusion" and "conspiracy" could soon throw everything into question.</p>
<p><strong>Puberty's threat </strong></p>
<p><strong></strong>Question: Who is Paul Sullivan?</p>
<p>He's the original "Wally" on <em>Leave it to Beaver</em>. The better-known "Wally," Tony Dow, revealed in a 2000 interview that Sullivan had been thrown off the show's original cast. His crime?</p>
<p>"He had grown a foot since the shooting of the pilot," said Dow, "and literally outgrew the part."</p>
<p><em>Red Fern</em> is in a similar fix. With 75 percent of the scenes filmed, script rewrites and clever editing could help production survive without Dave "Pa" Matthews. But key sequences for Joseph "Billy" Ashton remained. One source close to young Ashton warned this reporter back in 2000 that if the final days of shooting didn't soon materialize, the whole film would have to be re-shot.</p>
<p><img src="/images/issue0033/cover-ashton.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p><strong>Joseph Ashton, circa 1999. </strong></p>
<p><strong></strong>PUBLICITY SHOT</p>
<p>A boyish-looking eighth-grader when shooting commenced in the summer of 1999, Ashton says he has grown "about five inches and 30 pounds" since those early days in Tallequah. He was contacted by Katy Wallin to finish up filming at a Disney lot in California this summer. Ashton insists that "Hollywood magic" in the form of good makeup and a large coonskin cap "down-sized" him.</p>
<p>Born in 1986, Joseph Ashton Valencia (he uses his middle name for his acting career) has Native American ancestors on both sides of his family tree, according to his mother. In his previous starring role, the 1997 film <em>The Education of Little Tree</em>, he earned a hearty thumbs up from Roger Ebert for playing the title role of a half-Cherokee orphan. Ebert called Ashton "fresh and natural." <em>The Boston Phoenix</em> lauded him as "adorable and energetic."</p>
<p>The career span for child actors is short, and the long list of adorable cherubs who became unemployable adolescents includes Shirley Temple, Gary Coleman, and Macaulay Culkin.</p>
<p>Fortunately for Ashton, although his once-round face morphed into manhood while <em>Red Fern</em> footage collected dust, he is still able to achieve fame from voice work, including the lead of Otto on the Nickelodeon series, <em>Rocket Powered</em>. Ashton says his next big dream is film school to learn "behind-the-camera" work.</p>
<p>"I'm just having fun," says Ashton. "I take it seriously, but I'm not Hollywood. School's always first. I'm pretty much a regular kid."</p>
<p>Indeed, a phone call from a reporter one August afternoon found Ashton over at a nearby friend's house. The 11th grader's biggest concern? He recently broke his leg, so he can't play football this fall at his public high school.</p>
<p><strong>"Behind our backs" </strong></p>
<p><strong></strong>Katy Wallin, originally just the film's casting director, appears to have taken the lead as producer in finishing the film. Unfortunately, an intern in her office says, she is too busy to return calls and emails for this story.</p>
<p>Russell S. Walker, attorney for Lyman Dayton, is not happy about the auction, which terminated his client's rights to the film. Walker says that some of the potential investors Dayton was negotiating with to finish the film simply waited for the auction and joined forces to keep the price low.</p>
<p>"A number of these people went behind our backs and colluded to limit the bidding," says Walker, who also used the word "conspiracy" when talking about the auction.</p>
<p>However, William J. Immerman, chief operating officer of Crusader Entertainment, one of the three buyers, claims that Dayton is simply resorting to the "court of public opinion" after legal maneuvers have failed.</p>
<p>"All the facts were laid out before the bankruptcy judge," says Immerman, "and the judge thought that there was nothing improper."</p>
<p>Immerman says that the three companies have already spent in excess of $3 million to finish filming, to commission a musical score, and to work on post-production.</p>
<p>"The courts," says Immerman, who is an attorney, "typically don't favor somebody who sits back in the woods until someone else has spent substantial time and money to complete the project.</p>
<p>"The plan," he adds, "is to finish the film and then show it to a distributor."</p>
<p><strong>Lawyer's vow </strong></p>
<p><strong></strong>"It isn't over yet," says Walker. "We think we've got a deal that will greatly benefit the creditors." Is Walker preparing a lawsuit? He declines to tip his hand. "We haven't played all our cards," is all he'll say.</p>
<p>With Dayton's lawyer vowing to fight to win back the rights, and no word on a distributor, the film's future could be in jeopardy if Dayton sues. While film companies sometimes shy away from grabbing movies embroiled in litigation, Immerman says the book's popularity will make distributors eager for <em>Red Fern</em>.</p>
<p>"Personally, I think the movie's real outdated," says stiffed Tahlequah sign-painter Murv Jacob. "Coon-hunting was a pretty big sport... 30 years ago. I call it 'Where the Red Ink Flows.'"</p>
<p>If the film ever comes out, another small skirmish revolves over whether Lyman Dayton will get sole credit, or whether the director of the California shooting, Sam Pillsbury, can share the credit&#8211; and the residuals. The Directors Guild will have to sort that one out.</p>
<p>Standing on the Downtown Mall last week, after wrapping up his summer concert tour, Dave Matthews says he doesn't know when he'll ever see his film debut. While he didn't participate in any of the final shooting over the summer, Matthews expects to be called out for some voice-over dubbing.</p>
<p>"I'll do what they ask of me," he says.</p>
<p>And Matthews seems resigned to wait a while longer for the <em>Red Fern </em>release.</p>
<p>"It's a long ways away," says Matthews. "All I know is it's a long ways away."</p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
http://www.readthehook.com/92499/cover-story-daves-debut-disasters-stymie-matthews-move-movies#commentsdave matthewsCover StoriesMon, 27 Jun 2011 10:03:25 +0000hawes92499 at http://www.readthehook.com